A Chicago group actively devoted to media issues.

If you haven't yet made plans for the weekend, let us suggest the following:

Chicago Media Action is co-presenting the film "Baghdad On/Off" this weekend at Chicago Filmmakers. More details about the film are below.

A strange and wonderful documentary, Baghdad On/Off (2002, 86 mins., video, Iraq/France) is a bizarre and comic road movie in pre-war Iraq. Iraqi filmmaker Saad Salman has been living in Paris for more than twenty-five years after having fled from the regime because of his political opinions. When he receives word than his mother was seriously ill, he decides to return to Iraq to visit her. He is able to cross the border into Iraq with the help of a guide, but once inside nothing seems to go right. His guide, who continually promises to get to Baghdad the next day, drives Salman endlessly around northern Iraq, looking for safe access to the city. Meanwhile, he uses his inconspicuous digital video camera to film in different Kurdish refugee camps and hears testimonies by victims of Saddam Hussein. Baghdad On/Off is an extraordinary road movie that shows not just misery, but also leaves room for music, songs, and parties. The Iraqis have not lost their sense of humor, as is evident from the laconic remarks by the guide. Baghdad On/Off is by turns poetic, comic, melancholic, and joyous - an appropriate portrait of a lost fatherland.

The film will be shown Saturday and Sunday, November 1 and 2, at 8:00pm, at 5243 N. Clark St., 2nd Floor.

Also, upon further review, it seems that the promised rapid response form that we're cooking up will be delayed for the moment. But if you have a suggestion for a (preferably media-related, preferably Chicago-related) rapid response action that CMA should and can work on, please let us know.

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